“We’re not burning fossil fuels,” Kaplowe says, “and we’re very efficient thermoregulators.” McDougall laughs at this. He’s wearing a T-shirt and is barefoot on the hardwood floor. “The no-heat thing started in college when we didn’t have the money for it and then realized we didn’t need it anyway,” Kaplowe says. The household heating bill from NW Natural arrived Nov. 1. The total due was $6.54.

Sustainable Life: Two Portland couples make sustainability their lifestyle

By Jill Foreman

The Portland Tribune 16 hours ago

Caption: Roommates Dave Kaplowe (left) and Stuart McDougall try to use as few resources as possible, such as keeping the heat off in their house. Girlfriends Andrea Walter (second from left) and Katy Daily do their best to humor them. Photo: Jonathan House/Pamplin Media Group

There are some priceless sustainable-life moments every day in the small bungalow duplex Dave Kaplowe, 30, and Stuart McDougall, 30, share in Northeast Portland.

There was an incident recently with Kaplowe involving paper products.

“I opened up Dave’s closet and there were layers of tissue air-drying on the floor — reused,” says his girlfriend, Andrea Walter, 29.

Kaplowe, recovering from a cold, says reusing his unbleached brown paper towels is no matter to sneeze at. “Tissue isn’t recyclable, but eventually it loses its useful life,” he explains. He also dries a collection of handkerchiefs.

After a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, the two couples sit down in their unheated home to talk about their spartan lifestyles. McDougall is dating Katy Daily, 39. After breakfast Daily and Walter are still wearing jackets.

“It’s warmer outside,” Walter says, blowing on her tea. “We make sure to wear down jackets. It’s like a camping experience.”

She’s referring to Kaplowe and McDougall’s staunch refusal to heat the house. No exceptions.

McDougall laughs at this. He’s wearing a T-shirt and is barefoot on the hardwood floor.

“The no-heat thing started in college when we didn’t have the money for it and then realized we didn’t need it anyway,” Kaplowe says.

The household heating bill from NW Natural arrived Nov. 1. The total due was $6.54.

The men are so pleased they present a hard copy while Daily rolls her eyes.

The women may wish for warmer digs, but Kaplowe says there can be no compromise.

“Unless you count the heat from the electrical appliances,” Daily shoots back.

“The girls and we have a friendly competition, but they’re not going to win with the heat bill,” McDougall says.

Actually, the women may be winning on the electricity front.

“They use plenty of electricity,” Daily says. “My electric bill is lower than theirs. They could use the Blue Sky option, I want them to use it, but they don’t.”

Daily is talking about Pacific Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy program. Blue Sky is a voluntary, customer-supported program that develops the clean, renewable power of wind to generate electricity (for $2.95 a month).

Kaplowe nods and doesn’t say no, because while the women use heat, they can cut back on electricity by hanging their clothes to dry. The men would if they could, but simply cannot in winter because it’s not warm enough inside to air-dry clothes.

Daily sees her chance: “You guys don’t have a low-flow washer.”

“Hey! That’s because we rent,” Kaplowe protests. “We can control our lights,” he says, almost apologetically, “so we switched to compact fluorescents.”

Compact fluorescents, $6 heating bills, probiotic raw sauerkraut in the fridge — just who are these four environmentally conscious adults? Right now they could be watching Sunday football in front of a big-screen TV, eating takeout brunch in Styrofoam containers and washing six loads of laundry for the next week — all in 70-degree heated air.

Yet they aren’t and they don’t need to. Their lifestyle isn’t any less pleasant or exciting or fulfilling because they choose not to. In fact, each would argue their lives are made richer and more interesting by the way they live. Working hard, working smart

Kaplowe manages fish and wildlife mitigation projects with the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland.

The University of Oregon graduate was drawn to the BPA after serving nearly four years with the Peace Corps in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. While in the Peace Corps he helped rural communities, nongovernmental organizations and trinational government organizations adopt sustainable forestry and watershed management practices.

Instead of working on watershed management in three Central American countries, he now works with very similar issues in the four states that make up the Columbia Basin — Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

“I believe hydroelectric power is a renewable resource and a great alternative to the burning of fossil fuels or nuclear-derived power,” Kaplowe says. “The BPA demonstrates environmental stewardship and public responsibility.”

McDougall is from Melbourne, Australia. He recently finished his doctorate degree and is working in a research lab studying electrophysiology at Oregon Health & Science University.

Daily is the political director for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. Watch for legislation for an electronic waste bill that makes it free to drop off computer monitors and out-of-date televisions. She also is a Master Recycler.

Walter is earning her master’s degree in teaching from Lewis & Clark College with a focus on social studies and language arts. She served in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan. Activities help the planet

The four all bike to work, as well as recycle everything from toilet paper rolls to yogurt containers, supplement meals during summer with crops in a small city garden plot, eat hormone-free if possible — and stump for the environment.

McDougall volunteers for the Oregon Food Bank once a month, splitting bulk food items into smaller portions to be distributed to the rest of the state.

Kaplowe and Walter joined Daily in helping recruit phone volunteers to drum up support for environmental candidates in the recent election.

Everyone’s idea of a good time is getting outside. Conscious of gas consumption, they carpool to the mountains to cross-country ski and backpack.

About the only other time Kaplowe uses his car is to go surfing. In winter he dries his wetsuit socks in front of the kitchen stove (remember, no heat).

“It’s difficult to be an environmentalist because there’s so much consumption here,” Kaplowe says. “I feel like I do the best I can.”

Ron Tschetter in Morocco and JordanOn his first official trip since being confirmed as Peace Corps Director, Ron Tschetter (shown at left with PCV Tia Tucker) is on a ten day trip to Morocco and Jordan. Traveling with his wife (Both are RPCVs.), Tschetter met with volunteers in Morocco working in environment, youth development, health, and small business development. He began his trip to Jordan by meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and discussed expanding the program there in the near future.

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace CorpsSenator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Peace Corps' Screening and Medical ClearanceThe purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

The Peace Corps is "fashionable" againThe LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

PCOL readership increases 100%Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace CorpsPCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

Read the stories and leave your comments.

Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Portland Tribune

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Guatemala; Environment; energy

PCOL3545907

Add a Message

This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.